Margaret Maron

A mysterious ornithologist staying at Mrs. Lattimore's Victorian home and doing research on Southern vultures seems familiar to Judge Deborah Knott and Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant, especially after a murderer strikes.

Unchecked urbanization has begun to eclipse the North Carolina countryside. As farms give way to shoddy mansions, farmers struggle to slow the rampant growth. In the shadows, corrupt county commissioners use their political leverage to make profitable deals with new developers. A murder will pull Judge Deborah Knott and Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant into the middle of this bitter dispute and force them to confront some dark realities.

book #3 of "A Deborah Knott Mystery" series: Publisher's Note Judge Knott agrees to fill in for a colleague in Beaufort, North Carolina, a picturesque fishing village replete with a corpse. Before she can find out if the fisherman's death is an accident or murder, Deborah is confronted with some business from her own past--when another murder occurs and a former lover is accused..

A relic of Manhattan's Gilded Age, the Erich Bruel House on Gramercy Park contained three floors of glorious art--and one Christmas corpse. Now it's up to Lieutenant Sigrid Harald to wrap up this homicide before the killer strikes again.

- "High Country Fall, Margaret Maron's most recent installment in the Deborah Knott series, was published in Mysterious Press hardcover in 8/04, with a first printing of 40,000 copies.- Margaret Maron swept the top mystery awards with her first Deborah Knott hardcover, "Bootlegger's Daughter (Mysterious Press, 1992), receiving the Edgar1 Award for Best Mystery Novel, the Agatha Award, the Macavity, and the Anthony. She also won a 1992 Agatha Award for the short story that introduced the character of Deborah Knott, and later, she received the Agatha Award for Best Novel for "Up Jumps the Devil (Mysterious Press, 1996). Maron was nominated for an Agatha Award for "Home Fires (Mysterious Press, 1998), and most recently, "Storm Track (Mysterious Press, 2000) won the Agatha Award for Best Novel. "Last Lessons of Summer (Mysterious Press, 2003), was also nominated for an Agatha Award.- "Last Lessons of Summer, Slow Dollar, and Uncommon Clay were all selected as Mystery Guild Main Selections.

"Feline felonies by Ruth Rendell, Lilian Jackson Braun, Patricia Highsmith, and thirteen other modern masters of mystery"--Cover subtitle. Susu and the 8:30 ghost / Lilian Jackson Braun Miss Paisley's cat / Roy Vickers Arnold / Fred Hamlin Cat's-paw / Mary Reed The abominable house guest / Theodore Sturgeon The faithful cat / Patricia Moyes The lady wore black / Hugh B. Cave Hardrock / Gary Erickson The beast within / Margaret B. Maron The theft of the Mafia cat / Edward D. Hoch The old gray cat / Joyce Harrington The highwayman's hostage / Lillian de la Torre [Black Cat]( / Edgar Allan Poe Visitor to Mombasa / James Holding Ming's biggest prey / Patricia Highsmith Long live the queen / Ruth Rendell

"It is one month after their wedding and the future looks bright for Judge Deborah Knott and Sheriff's Deputy, Dwight Bryant. That is until a disturbing call from Dwight's eight-year-old son, Cal, brings him back to Virginia. When he arrives, he is shocked to find that his ex-wife has left the boy alone for almost twenty-four hours. Worse, as Dwight tries to confront her, she takes the child, and leaves without a word. As Dwight embarks on his search, Deborah hurries to his side. But will they be able to work together to decipher the ex-wife's motives and, more importantly, rescue Cal before he is harmed?"--Jacket.

Judge Deborah Knott can't wait to trade the lush fields of Colleton County for the clear blue ocean and long stretches of sand at Wrightsville Beach. A summer conference for the North Carolina district court judges couldn't come soon enough for Deborah, who is overwhelmed by her newly married life and the responsibilities of being a mom. Lying beneath the hot summer sun in Wrightsville and reconnecting with old friends over delicious seafood dinners in nearby Wilmington, Deborah finally begins to unwind. But tensions are building beneath the surface of this seemingly peaceful resort area. Deborah's relaxing trip to the seaside takes a sudden, dark turn when she stumbles upon the strangled corpse of one of her less-admired colleagues. It doesn't take long before she realizes that the killer may have another target, much closer to home. Unwilling to stand idly by while the murderer draws near, Deborah begins to investigate alone. At each turn, her list of suspects grows to include everyone from her judicial colleagues and friends to local television personalities and restaurant employees, and soon it seems that anyone in Wilmington could be capable of murder.

An all-new mystery anthology edited and featuring a new story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris Nighttime is the perfect time for the perfect crime. #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris edits and contributes an all-new story-set in her Sookie Stackhouse universe-to this anthology from the Mystery Writers of America. Other authors include:Steve BrewerDana CameronMax Allan Collins and Mickey SpillaneBarbara D'AmatoBrendan DuBoisTerrie Farley MoranJack FredricksonParnell HallCarolyn HartS. W. HubbardToni L. P. KelnerLou KempWilliam Kent KreugerHarley Jane KozakMargaret MahonMartin MeyersJeffrey SomersElaine VietsMike Wiecek